Browsing by study line "Yleinen ja aikuiskasvatustiede"
Now showing items 41-60 of 236
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(2022)The aim of this master’s thesis was to describe mediation activities as part of a group discussion task in an academic English course. In addition, the goal was to investigate how successful mediation affects interaction. The perspective on mediation in this study is guided by the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) and mediation is defined through the CEFR descriptors for mediation. The descriptors were added in the CEFR, and mediation presented as one of the modes of language, in the 2018 CEFR Companion Volume. The new volume, as well as the concept of mediation, further emphasizes the communicative and action-oriented approach to language learning. Mediation refers to co-creation of meaning, facilitating understanding and communication between participants in interaction. The hypothesis in this thesis was that successful mediation has a positive effect on interaction whereas problems in mediation have the opposite effect. The participants (N=51) were students from three different academic English courses in the University of Helsinki Language Centre. The data were gathered as part of a course task consisting of small group discussions. The data consist of students’ answers to post-discussion questionnaires as well as video recordings of the discussions. Mixed methods approach was used in this study, and qualitative data were analyzed both inductively and deductively. This study concretizes the concept of mediation and makes mediation activities visible. It al-so shows how mediation activities can be described and assessed from the perspective of the CEFR descriptors. The results show that mediation can be taught and practiced, and that the CEFR descriptors can be used in defining different types of mediation. In addition, the descriptors can be used as a guideline in students’ self-assessment. However, the view on language learning the concept of mediation represents is seen as more significant than the specific descriptors. Mediation embodies a communicative approach that emphasizes the social nature of learning, cultural competence and the active role of the language learner. The conclusion in this thesis is that adopting a mediation-perspective towards classroom activities contributes to a more communicative approach to language learning and teaching.
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(2022)The research task of this master's thesis is to describe shared expertise in a distributed team during the corona pandemic. The thesis is based on the theory of distributed work. It is examined from the perspective of shared expertise, taking into account the impact of the corona pandemic on the work of experts. The research questions of the thesis are 1) how has the corona pandemic affected experts' experiences of working in a distributed team and 2) which factors support shared expertise in a distributed team? The thesis focuses on experts' experiences of the phenomenon. The material for the thesis was collected through semi-structured thematic interviews of six experts. The interviewees worked in the HR team of a large corporation, which has operated distributed work before the corona pandemic. The analysis of the data was carried out using a theory-driven content analysis. The results of the study showed that the corona pandemic has affected the work of an already distributed team. The work became even more distributed and this seemed to increase the efficiency of work, task-orientedness and independence. In distributed work, the versatile use of communication technology supports team cooperation and reduces experiences of the challenges brought by physical distance. Shared roles and the competence based on them, as well as jointly shared operating methods and communication practices, increased interaction and cooperation in a distributed team and promoted shared expertise. However, in a distributed team, spontaneous ideation and sharing tacit knowledge was perceived as challenging, so sufficient time must be arranged for this. Good team spirit and trust also emerged as important factors for the success of the work.
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(2022)The purpose of this thesis is to examine how the concepts equality, gender equality and diversity are discussed in equality plans within university education in Finland. My research questions follow the purpose; what kind of discourses, regarding the three concepts, are found in the documents. My research is based on critical theory and critical discourse analysis. Previous research shows that legislation often plays a central role in equality plans. Research also shows that the concepts might sometimes be used for marketing purposes by organisations and institutions. Using Fairclough's (1992) critical discourse analysis, I analysed four Finnish universities' equality plans in Swedish. The research was a case study, and the sample was based on that the plans must be available in Swedish. The plans were reviewed as a whole, and in total they consisted of 96 pages. The equality plans were publicly published on the websites of the universities during 2018 – 2021. I focused on how the analysed concepts took shape in larger contexts within the documents. With the help of various linguistic analysing tools, I read through the plans several times, took notes, and highlighted relevant sections in the documents. Finally, I categorized the highlighted sections. The legislative discourse in the equality plans was evident. However, an interpretive discourse and signs of market discourse also appeared in the documents. The results showed that equality, gender equality and diversity were viewed as overarching goals for the universities. Gender differences were emphasized within specific problem areas, while equal treatment was used when discussing the organisation as a whole. In terms of diversity, internationalization was often pronounced. Discourses regarding Othering were also found in the documents. As a conclusion, it can be stated that the universities comply to equality and gender equality values that are based on equal treatment and equal opportunity. However, they simultaneously compete on a competitive market which lead to contradictions in the way they expressed themselves. Since the language in the equality plans reflects the universities’ values and operations, it is important that the wording is consistent and comprehensible, not only for the sake of the reader but mainly for the organization to have a distinct and clear vision of what it is pursuing.
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(2021)Background and objectives. The aim of this study was to clarify the usage of the concept of continuous learning. Another aim was to understand what conditions or expectations were set for continuous learning in different settings. These questions were examined by reviewing scientific research and reviews to identify themes in which the concept of continuous learning was used. Continuous learning is in the centre of Finnish government programme with expectation to correspond to the needs of changing working life and to enable longer careers for individuals. Corporates are also leaning on continuous learning to minimize business risk and enhance profitability by offering training or job rotation for employees. Bonding the concept of continuous learning to specific models or targets creates a contradiction to fundamentals of learning which is continuous regardless of context. Based on this setting the concept of continuous learning is reviewed from the angles of lifelong learning, political aspiration, and financial interests, for example the enhancement or change of working life. Methods. This research was conducted as a systematic literature review. This method was recognized to be the most informative when investigating the usage of the concept of continuous learning as previous meta-analysis brings out the different angles and context in which the concept was used. Data was collected from three databases and sixteen articles or reviews were included in this research. Results and conclusions. The concept of continuous learning was connected to theoretical framework of this study which included lifelong learning, political discussion, and financial interests. Especially remarks considering working life and its demands stood out from the data. These were tightly connected with political and financial interests from individual as well as societal perspectives. Continuous learning can be viewed a necessity to prosper in working life and life in general. This perception narrows down the fundamental meaning of learning as a continuous process.
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(2020)The aim of this study was to find out views about future of leadership in school and early childhood education (ECE) from persons who work at the moment as leaders in this field. Although school and ECE are different fields, they are very similar to each other when it comes to leadership. Leaders’ work is diverse from pedagogical leadership to personnel and financial leadership including also simple office routines. In this study I wanted to show the similarity of these two fields with regard to leadership because in earlier studies these fields are separated from each other. The topic of this study is relevant because there are already challenges to find competent professionals in the leadership positions in school and ECE fields. Additionally the leadership practices are not up to date in the changing environment. It is necessary to develop the leadership practices and training in the education field so that it can be functional in the future. The material in this study is a part of the material collected in the needs of Edu Leaders -project. The aim of Edu Leaders -project is to produce advanced studies for professionals who work in leadership positions in education. The material used in this study consist of nine group interviews in which attended all together 29 professionals who work in leadership positions in education field. Analysis was performed by using thematic analysis. This is a case study where generalizability is not the aim. This study showed that by the views of these leaders, leaders in education field will need interaction skills and self-management skills in the future. It also showed that divers models of distributed leadership are needed in the future. The results showed that training and education for those who already work as leaders and for those who are going to work as leaders in education field should be developed so that the training is suitable for the changes of the working environment and field. According to this study the future challenges are increasing workload of leaders resulting exhaustion and the challenge of training and finding competent professionals.
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(2019)This research is focused on the schooling experiences of non-binary transgender people. The aim of the study is to produce information on how gender variation has been taken into consideration while the 1994 and 2004 reforms of the Finnish national core curriculums for basic education were in effect. Based on these data, the aim is to speculate how gender variation is considered in schools today. The analysis was focused on how interviewees created subjectivity in their narratives and how (gender normative forms of) the hidden curriculum appears in these narratives. The results can be used to help develop the school institution into a more sensitive direction, and to be aware of different genders and the dynamics between them. The theoretical base examines the concepts of non-binary transgender and gender variation. Secondly it provides an overview of the power of gender norms. Thirdly the theoretical base introduces some of the relevant topics of the Finnish national core curriculums for basic education established in the years 1994 and 2004. It then offers some information on the invisible power of the hidden curriculum. The final section of the theoreti-cal base addresses discourses, discursive practices and subjectivities, which are essential in the analysis of gender norms, the hidden curriculum and the interviews. The research was conducted by interviewing seven non-binary transgender adults. They had attended basic education while the 1994 and/or 2004 Finnish national core curriculums were in effect. The interviews were conducted using an adaptation of the autobiographical narrative interview method. The data were analyzed with a data-based discourse analysis. The results were construed using a critical feminist perspective. The analysis produced three hegemonic discourses: outsider, gender normative school, and non-normative gender. Based on these discourses, the results showed six strong subjectivity positions: an outsider and different, an illegitimate woman or a man, nonexistent, agender or feminine-masculine, an agonist against norms, and a victim. The presence of the (gender normative) hidden curriculum occurred especially when the interviewees spoke about the support and safety of school, school control and teaching/learning situations, students’ responsibilities, and school environmental issues. The findings of this research indicate that non-binary transgender people must form a self-image mostly with-out any existing discourses. They become positioned as oppressed or as agonists against oppression. The control of the hidden curriculum was proved strong and very gender normative. Based on that, there is a major paradox between actual school policies and the national core curriculums. The findings would imply that the situation may not be any better nowadays despite the core curriculum reforms. The knowledge of gender variations and gender sensitivity must increase in the future. It is also necessary to offer teachers support and information on how they should meet and treat students of any gender.
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(2024)In this research, I will examine the educational pathways of young individuals with se-vere sensory or mobility impairments in Finland, focusing on their transition from educa-tion to the workforce. Interviews with 45 participants born since the early 1980s indicate four key struggles: 1) the fight for inclusion in mainstream education, 2) the struggle for accessible learning environments, 3) combating discrimination and ableism in educa-tional settings, and 4) integration into the labor market. These struggles highlight em-bedded ableism in the education system and society, perpetuating the belief that disa-bled people are less capable or valuable. Until the early 2000s, the existence of a net-work of special schools emphasised the choice of school enrolment, with parents play-ing a crucial role in choosing the path. Since the dismantling of the special school sys-tem, people with severe sensory and mobility impairments are more likely to be educat-ed in mainstream education, so the struggles have shifted to the later stages of the ed-ucational pathway. This has meant that disabled people themselves have become key players, alongside parents. At the same time, the difference in educational pathways be-tween disabled people with a disability before the start of the school years and disabled people with a disability later in life has diminished.
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(2023)The idea of this thesis was to build an understanding of the organizational cultures of two organizations that are parties to an acquisition. By characterizing the current culture of these organizations, it is possible to facilitate the merging and alignment of cultures, so that cooperation in the new situation would be successful. The research was a quantitative survey during fall of 2022, and based on the data from the survey, cultural profiles were built for both organizations. By comparing these cultural profiles, plan was to find the areas and entities in current cultures where they are similar and can so be seen as the company’s core competence and strength. Idea was also to find the areas where the current cultures are different and where the so-called collision of cultures could happen, or where the differences can be turned into strength. Both organizations were well represented in the data, but there were less answers in open questions than was expected. According to the results, the most important factor in both organizations is its employees and people-to-people cooperation. Also, both cultures emphasized their own industries, which are slightly different for these two organizations. The results did not reveal a large clash of cultures, but especially on the main group’s side, the organizational culture could require refinement and harmonization throughout the entire company.
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(2022)The purpose of this thesis was to disclose the current views of Finnish and English language use and development in a multiculturalising Finnish service industry company from its personnel and their views of the future changes in the use of working languages. The research is topical as the foreign workforce in the industry keeps growing and the Finnish population is becoming more multilingual. So far there has been little research on the working languages of Finnish companies, as the research has mainly focused on multinational companies. The aim of the thesis is to find prevailing differences of views about the meaning of languages in multilingual working life from a phenomenographic point of view. Views have been outlined to the themes of everyday work, foreign language development and future working language. The language choices in work situations are studied from the perspectives of language skill development and situations of communication. In the study, seven people from four different organizational areas were interviewed: workers, supervisors, manager-level supervisors, and a member of the training team. The interview material was analyzed with phenomenographic methods using the Atlas.ti software. The results of the thesis show that there are regional differences in the importance of languages in everyday work within the service industry company. In work communities, the choice of language was based on the language skills shared by the members of the community. In situations where the employee did not have sufficient skills in the Finnish language, communication was facilitated by common languages of the work community. The respondents felt that the importance of the English language in the company will increase as the share of foreign workforce in the industry increases. The employees saw the importance of English language skills increasing at the supervisor level, but at the same time they also felt that the use of the English language acted as a slowing factor for foreign workers' learning of the Finnish language in everyday work.
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(2023)The work of an artist performing popular music requires comprehensive commitment, and to be successful, the artist must not only be in a favorable starting point, but also practice long-term. Success is not achieved alone, and a supportive environment has been found to be essential when aiming for the top. Commitment to training as well as motivation and belief in one's own abilities are easily put to the test without a supportive environment. The purpose of this study was to examine the encouragement received by successful singing artists performing popular music and the meanings of encouragement. The study identified in which stages of the life path of successful artists the meaningful encouragement experiences are located and what kind of meanings successful artists give to the encouragement they receive. The necessity of the research is increased by the fact that scientific research on artists performing popular music is very scarce, and my research corrects this deficiency in part. In the study, five successful artists performing popular music were interviewed. The interviews were conducted as open narrative interviews. The research was carried out and analyzed according to the narrative approach. Based on the stories of the artists, I placed the meaningful encouragement experiences in childhood and youth, the beginning of a career, critical moments and places of choice, as well as publicity, success and increased experience. I categorized the meanings of encouragement into opportunities, motivation and enthusiasm, self-belief and contradictions regarding encouragement. The encouragement stories of the artists were mostly in line with each other. Their lives have been very similar in terms of, for example, a musically encouraging growth environment, opportunities received and a career with an ascending start. They have received a lot of encouragement from many different sources throughout their life and it has supported them even through difficult moments. In the artists’ stories, the diversity and importance of encouragement came up both in childhood and youth as well as in the midst of success, the encouragement for example strengthening self-belief and providing opportunities. The participants found it meaningful that encouragement never ceased in any stage of life. The results of this study mostly support the results of previous studies and indicate that encouragement received in the early years of life has a significant role in future achievements.
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(2022)Aims. The aim of this master's thesis was to gain insights to the nature of the workplace mediation field and mediators in Finland. The purpose is to fulfil the current research gap on workplace mediators as similar studies have not been conducted before. This research focuses on workplace mediators' orientations which are considered the internalized theories of practice, the perceptions of mediation process, the roles of participants and the intervener and goals for the mediation intervention. Orientation reflects on mediators' actions and participants' autonomy in situational mediation framework and its' explication has been acknowledged to be part of mediators' ethical principles. This research explores if congruences can be identified within theoretically formulated orientation variables and between previous mediation literature. Further, this study explores whether these orientation dimensions can be utilized in distinguishing clusters amongst mediators. Methods. The research data was collected in January 2020 by using an electronic questionnaire. Re-spondents, who identified as workplace mediators (N = 99), form a self-assorted sample of population. The questionnaire contained descriptive and orientation-related variables along with questions considering mediation experience and training. Orientation dimensions were extracted with principal axis factoring method. Further, the respondents were divided into four different orientation pro-file subgroups by using Two-Step Cluster analysis. Multinomial logistic regression analysis was used to explore if orientation profile group memberships could be predicted by demographic or mediation experience related antecedents. Results and conclusions. Three orientation dimensions were identified from the research data. Based on the content analysis which builds upon the theoretical framework, the dimensions were labelled as evaluative, facilitative and transformative. Based on the orientation dimensions, four distinguish orientation profile subgroups were identified amongst workplace mediators in Finland. The orientation dimensions overlap and emerge interrelatedly contradicting the traditional and typical representations of theoretically formulated approaches to mediation. The explanatory variables selected for the multinomial logistic regression model were incapable to predict memberships to different orientation profile groups.
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(2022)The aim of this study was to explore positive discrimination projects, which promote equality during early childhood education and elementary education. The projects were funded by government assistance by Finnish National Agency for Education. The purpose of government assistance was to promote social and regional equality and to prevent social exclusion. The data was gathered by interviewing project participants who were working in three different projects. Based on the data, I did explore dimensions of equality and opportunities that the projects gave to promote setted goals of positive discrimination. For the sake of analyzing the gathered data a discursive reading method was used, which aimed to point out different, parallel and competing meanings of equality. Discursive analysis sees that language has constructive and profitable nature. Using the method makes it possible to look at the project objectives and outcomes through these meanings. According to the results of this study equality and inequality had different meanings in the context of these projects. Some of these meanings emphasized more individual characteristics and skills and some were taking into consideration more structural factors. Employees described the projects as temporary solutions with uncertainty of continuation and maintenance of developed solutions after finalizing them.
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(2021)Objective of the study. Transition from studies to work can be considered as an important process in human life and it has impact on personal well-being. Study and work engagement, which are affected by individual, collective, and situational factors, have been shown to have positive effects. In this study, study and work engagement is defined as a long-term and fulfilling positive experience which is shown as vigour, dedication, and absorption. More detailed studies of engagement in the transition from higher education to work is missing from generalized fields. Aim of this study is to examine meaningful experiences of the study and work engagement in the transition from university to work with master students and Masters of Educational Science. Aim of the study is also to examine the objects in the interviewees’ studies and work of engagement. Methods. The data consisted of semi-structured interviews collected in total from 20 participants. Critical incident -technique was applied in the interviews. 9 of the interviewees were students of educational sciences and 11 of them were Masters of Educational Science. All of them were working. The data were qualitatively analysed by abductive content analysis. Results and conclusions. The meaningful experiences in the studies and work were similar in both groups. The meaningful experiences of the interviewed students were related to the beginning of the studies, courses and events, internships, the first work in related field, present situation, and future. The interviewed masters’ meaningful experiences lacked experiences of pedagogical studies. Also, instead of challenges in studies and work the interviewees described challenges which affected on studying and working, and other challenges. The objects of the interviewees’ meaningful experiences were mainly the studies and work or matters followed by those.
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(2020)Careers have changed from moving hierarchically within a single organization to moving in more diverse directions. These changes have proven to affect also the relationship between employee and employer. The psychological contract theory has been used in studies to understand the reciprocal relationship between the employee and the employer and what the parties expect from each other in the employment relationship. This Master Thesis is an assignment from Company X and its purpose is to study former and current plant engineers’ and employer representatives' expectations of a plant engineer’s work and career. According to the sponsoring company, the turnover rate for plant engineers is too high and for that reason the aim of this study is to understand the expectations of both parties. This study is implemented as a qualitative theme interview. I interviewed four current plant engineers, two former plant engineers, and five employer representatives. The data was analyzed using a theory-guided qualitative content analysis approach and psychological contract theory structures the analysis. The research findings indicate that an employee's work and career expectations are subjective and impacted by the messages they receive and interpret from the organization, social cues and individual predispositions. The turnover rate is heightened by the constant messages about the high turnover rate and that the job is positioned as a “fast track” to other jobs. Employer representatives' expectations about a plant engineer's work and career were partly contradictory. Considering psychological contract theory, the expectations should be clarified in order to communicate them consistently to the employees.
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(2021)Objectives. The purpose of the study is to find out whether the group discussions of primary school teachers features concepts related to competitiveness. I look at the subject by asking teachers what direction comprehensive school is heading towards and how teachers would develop comprehensive school. The discussion on education policy has general features of competitiveness and it is described as neoliberal. In the theoretical framework, I examined the policies and programs of education politics in support of the theory. The concept of competitiveness is described as vague and ambiguous. In the group discussions themes that were mentioned frequently were evaluation, measurement and development. These concepts are related to competitiveness. I looked at my research problem through themes. This research is from the fields of general and adult education research. Methods. The study was carried out using qualitative methods. As a research method, I used thematic analysis. I conducted two group discussion for collecting my data. Two groups of primary school teachers participated in the group discussions in spring 2019. Both primary schools are located in the Uusimaa region. Results and conclusions. The results show that competitiveness emerged in the group discussions of primary school teachers. Competitiveness comes to the fore in the group discussions of primary schools teachers as an emphasis on evaluation and measurement. In addition, the results show that in comprehensive school, individualization plays a key role. The contrary speech of competitiveness emerged in discussions as development. Defining the concept of competitiveness in the educational context of primary school requires further research.
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(2022)Aims of the study. This study seeks to find out what kind of situations students typically face during their progress through university studies and what kind of different pathways can be identified as a series of these situations. The aim was to map out and to develop a clustering-based method of identifying these situations and pathways from student transcript data that would complement the information provided by commonly used measures of student progression. Methods. The research strategy of this study follows that of design research, where methods and new knowledge is built iteratively. The data consists of student transcript data of 3167 students at the University of Helsinki who had started their studies in computer science, mathematics, or general and adult education between the years 2010 and 2015. The data was provided by the Agile Education Research group at the University of Helsinki and contained all records of passed or failed completion attempts that had been recorded by 11.3.2020. The data was shaped to coarser level to be used in cluster analysis and clustered using k-medians clustering. Results and conclusions. The results show that it is possible to use clustering as a tool to better understand student transcript data and the pathways students take through their university degrees. The shown clustering makes it possible to describe the progression of studies both on the individual and group levels. Three clusters defining the starting situations and 22 clusters defining the situations during studies were identified. Transitions between clusters show that series of clusters for several pathways that have different stages and outcomes. In conclusion, the results show that student transcript data contains information which universities could use in efforts aimed at helping students advance in their studies
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(2022)Objectives. The purpose of the dissertation was to study the basic psychological needs and positive mental health of employees in a Finnish financial sector organization. The research task was to examine the current state of the basic psychological needs of the theory of authenticity, benevolence and self-determination among the employees of the target organization and their connection to the perceived positive mental health. The study examined the construction of a new model and its relationship to positive mental health using linear regression analysis. Methods. For the study, I constructed a research questionnaire utilizing several validated measures of positive mental health, authenticity, benevolence, and SDT theory’s basic psychological needs. The questionnaire was administered to the employees of the target group by e-mail. Participation was voluntary and 395 responses were received. Correlation, cluster analysis, and regression analysis were used to analyze the data. The study involved using linear regression analysis for modelling relations between basic psychological needs of self-determination theory across authenticity, benevolence and self-determination, and examining its relationship to positive mental health. Results and conclusions. Satisfaction with the basic psychological needs of the employees of the target organization was quite strong. On the other hand, the perceived positive mental health of the employees was somewhat lower than the average of the Finnish population in general. The study revealed that the basic psychological needs of self-determination theory, benevolence, and authenticity are associated with perceived positive mental health. The model called as a Calling and model of Calling obtained in the study explained a total of 49% of the variation in positive mental health. The results show that high satisfaction with the basic psychological needs of workers in the financial sector predicts a higher perceived positive mental health.
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(2021)Important transitions in life require a special ability to navigate in a changing environment. These transitions pose challenges for all people, but especially for people on the autism spectrum. Studies show that both the transition to higher education and from higher education to work pose certain difficulties for them. At the same time, the aim is to promote the diversity of higher education and a smoother work transition. The support of the universities has been found to promote both the progress of studies and skills important in studies. The purpose of this Master’s thesis was to look at speech related to support for students on the autism spectrum at universities. The research material consisted of six interviews in which two career services employees, two university teachers, and both current and graduate students on the autism spectrum were interviewed. The interviews were originally part of the Improving Employability of Autistic Graduates in Europe (IMAGE) project. The six interviews were selected for use in this thesis together with the researcher involved in the project. The research material was analyzed by discourse analysis. As a result of the analysis, three discourses were outlined, which were named similarization discourse, individualization discourse, and individualistic discourse. The subject positions of students on the autism spectrum transitioning to work, were outlined through substance- and special skills and without individualistic agency. These subject positions did not fully meet the individualistic expectations of employers, or the support formed based on these expectations.
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(2024)The aim of this study is to find out how people working in the social sector experience value conflicts in their work. In addition, the aim is to investigate the experience of employees working in social sector regarding the connection between conflict of values and the experience of meaningfulness of work. Based on previous research, it has been found that people strive to act in accordance with their values. If values do not materialize, ethical stress and a sense of value conflict arise. Action contrary to values can reduce well-being at work and, with it, the experience of meaningful work. When working with people in a vulnerable position in the social sector, values and ethics are emphasized even more and at the same time, the employee can face value-challenging situations in complex service system. For this reason the experiences of employees in value conflicts play a central role in social work research. The research method of this study was qualitative. The research data was collected from six semi structured interviews with people working in various workplaces in the social sector. All the interviewees had higher education (university or university of applied science). The data was collected in late autumn 2023 and spring 2024 and it was analysed using a thematic analysis method. Seven themes were formed, using thematic analysis method and the experiences of value conflicts were placed under these themes: 1) Service system and bureaucracy, 2) the shortcomings of the work community, 3) self-determination of the clients, 4) the difference of opinions, 5) money and economy, 6) the consequences of value conflicts and 7) the connections of value conflicts to the experience of meaningfulness of work. The results revealed that the most often experienced value conflicts were caused by external factors that limited the employee from acting in the client’s best interest. For example, the burden of service system, long waiting times for client and related bureaucracy, insufficient resources and financial savings led to decisions contrary to values. The client’s right to self-determination which is part of the ethical guidelines of the social sector, caused conflicting situations, because the client did not always make decisions for his or her own good. Value conflicts were experienced in situations where the employee had significant differences of opinion regarding client’s care or life choices between the client, close associates or his or her own colleagues. The lack of support from one’s own work community also caused value conflicts because the support of the community was felt to be an important value. The majority of the interviewees thought that value conflicts reduced the perceived experience of meaningfulness of work. At worst, value conflicts led to a change of job. However, the study showed that value conflicts could also strengthen the experience of the meaningfulness of one’s work as a defender for the client’s interest.
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(2024)As Finnish society ages, the specific characteristics and challenges of an ageing workforce have been addressed through age management. However, age management practices are diverse, and gaps have been identified in the age management skills of managers. Despite these findings, the development of age management from the perspective of managers has not received much attention. In this thesis, age management is examined from the point of view of managers, and the focus of interest is on their experiences of age management, the significance of its development activities and their perceived needs for the future development of age management. The research material consisted of interviews with managers which were analysed using thematic analysis. The participants came from three Finnish expert organisations and had all been involved in age management development activities by Nextmile. Either older employees had participated in an activity designed to improve the retirement process, the manager had participated in a training course on age management, or the organisation had used both types of implementations. The managers felt it was important to discuss age management from a holistic perspective, where different ages and different kinds of people are considered. The challenges of ageing were recognised, but age management was tailored to the needs of the individual. In the management of older people, managers placed particular emphasis on the need to ensure work ability and success of the retirement process. Managers also recognized the importance of their role as an enabler of longer careers. Alongside the age management, productivity issues were also actively considered. As regards to the development of age management, the information provided on retirement and aging was seen as important by the managers. The courses were also seen as a good way to stimulate ideas, which led to more age-friendly management. In addition, the age management development activities and the peer support they provided were seen as helpful in the process of managing the final years of a career. Age management development activities were also seen to normalise the retirement transition and to develop the organisation in a more age-friendly direction. In terms of age management development activities in the future, a wide range of implementation methods were desired, considering both managers and older employees’ retirement. In addition, clarity and systematicity were desired in the processes of the final phase of a career. Building a more age-friendly working life requires action. When organizations recognize the importance of age management development, Finnish working life will be developed in a more age-friendly direction.
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